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⚖️ Iowa Homeschool Laws & Requirements

What Iowa law asks of homeschool families — notice or registration, school days and subjects, testing, records and diplomas — summarized from our Iowa guide with links to the official sources.

Homeschooling in Iowa: the basics

The law: Iowa Code chapter 299A governs private instruction, and § 299.1 lets a parent, guardian or custodian meet the attendance law with "competent private instruction or independent private instruction in accordance with the provisions of chapter 299A." Private instruction means instruction using a plan and a course of study outside a public or organized accredited nonpublic school (§ 299A.1(2)(c)). The Department of Education's rules are in Iowa Administrative Code 281—chapter 31.
Who must attend: a child who has reached age 6 and is under 16 by September 15 is of compulsory attendance age (§ 299.1A). A child enrolled in a district or accredited nonpublic school who turns 16 on or after September 15 stays of compulsory age until the end of the school calendar. For CPI families who don't report, the Department's handbook puts it this way: a student who turns 16 before September 15 may stop at any time that year; one whose birthday is after September 15 finishes that school year.
Exceptions: the attendance law doesn't apply to a child who has graduated or earned a high school equivalency diploma, is excused by a court, is attending religious services or instruction or a course in religious instruction, attends an accredited private college preparatory school, or is excused or exempted under §§ 299.22 or 299.24 (§ 299.2).
CPI Option 1 — licensed teacher: instruction by or under the supervision of someone holding a valid Iowa license appropriate to the child's age and grade (§ 299A.2). It may be a district's homeschool assistance program (HSAP), a licensed teacher the family hires at its own expense, or a parent who holds a license. A privately retained teacher must contact the student and parent at least twice per 45 days of instruction, one of every two contacts face to face, and generally may serve no more than 25 families or 50 children a year unless the Department grants an exemption (IAC 281—31.3(1)). Option 1 families outside an HSAP still file Form A (§ 299A.2).
CPI Option 2 — parent without a license, with reporting: the parent "may" file Form A with the resident district, have the child evaluated each year, and report the results by August 1 (§ 299A.3). Reporting is required if you want to dual enroll in the district for classes, activities or special education.
CPI Option 2 — without reporting: the Department calls this the Private Instruction Exemption. There is no Form A, no curriculum documentation and no proof of yearly progress to the district or the Department. You must still teach reading and language arts, mathematics, science and social studies, but the student can't dual enroll for academics, activities or special education services. The Department says the district may not ask who is teaching, where or which students.
Independent private instruction (IPI): instruction that isn't accredited, has private or religious-based instruction as its primary purpose, teaches mathematics, reading and language arts, science and social studies in all grade levels, isn't a nonpublic school or CPI, and gives a report naming the primary instructor, location, responsible authority and students only if the superintendent or the Department asks in writing (§ 299A.1(2)(b)). IPI families file no forms and can't dual enroll; the district must still offer them an approved driver education course, annual testing at the family's cost and concurrent enrollment (IAC 281—31.7(6)).
What changed in 2026: House File 2754, signed May 12, 2026 and effective on enactment, removed IPI's limit of four unrelated students and its ban on charging tuition, fees or other pay. It also added § 299A.13 on parent-issued diplomas and § 299A.14, which lets a parent sign any document the law requires to verify a child's placement in CPI or IPI, full- or part-time status, grades or other educational information.
Days: the Department describes CPI as instruction provided daily for at least 148 days during the school year, at least 37 days each quarter, and Form A asks for the number of instructional days ("minimum 148 required"). Students who withdraw from a school to homeschool may subtract the days they already attended. IPI sets no day count.
Curriculum: families choose their own curriculum; the Department "does not review, recommend or require a specific curriculum." An "accredited" curriculum is fine to use, but accreditation of a curriculum doesn't make the homeschool accredited.
Homeschool assistance programs are public school programs: an HSAP is offered by a school district (or an accredited nonpublic school) with a licensed teacher who assists and supervises the parent (§ 299A.2). A child in a district HSAP is enrolled and counted in the district's basic enrollment. Districts don't have to offer one. Charter schools are public schools, and online schools approved by the Department are public or nonpublic schools — enrolling in either is not homeschooling.
Health records: a parent placing a child under CPI for the first time who files Form A also gives the district proof of the immunizations required under § 139A.8 and, for an elementary-age child, a blood lead test (§ 299.4). The Department says families using CPI Option 2 without reporting don't have to provide proof of immunization or a blood lead test.

Read the full section in our Iowa guide

Form A, annual evaluations and records

Form A: families using CPI Option 1 or CPI Option 2 with dual enrollment or optional reporting file the Department's Form A (CPI Report) with the resident district by September 1 — or, after moving or leaving an accredited school, as fully as possible within 14 calendar days and fully completed within 30 calendar days. Families joining a district HSAP ask by September 15 (or within 14 days of moving in or leaving a school). By law the report gives the child's name and age, the period of instruction, an outline of the course of study or the texts to be used, and the instructor's name and address (§ 299.4, as amended in 2026).

What the form asks: student and parent names and address, grade and the number of instructional days. Only families who are dual enrolling, or whose HSAP requires it, add the course of study (subjects, texts or resources and time spent) and immunization documentation or a waiver. Form A is also where you request dual enrollment — academic courses including concurrent enrollment, extracurricular activities or special education — and HSAP participation.

Annual evaluation: a CPI Option 2 student whose family reports or dual enrolls is evaluated by May 31 each year. The Department lists three ways — a Department-approved standardized assessment, a portfolio review by a person with a current Iowa teaching license, or a transcript or report card from an accredited correspondence or online school — and the family sends the results to the district by August 1. Option 1 students (including HSAP students) may test but don't have to, unless the HSAP requires it.

Testing: if you ask, the school district or area education agency (AEA) gives the annual achievement evaluation at no cost to you (§ 299A.4(6)). The Department's approved tests are the Iowa Test of Basic Skills Forms E and F, TerraNova 3rd Edition Forms C and D, Stanford Achievement Test 10th Edition, the ISASP and, for eligible students with an IEP, the Alternate Assessment. In general parents may not give a standardized test themselves; the test publisher's security and proctoring rules decide. A child who is 7 or is placed under CPI for the first time takes an evaluation to set baseline data (§ 299A.4(2)).

Portfolio option: instead of a test, the family can submit lesson plans or a diary of subjects taught, a portfolio of the child's work and any other assessments, reviewed by a licensed Iowa practitioner the family chooses and the superintendent approves. The evaluator's report goes to the parent, the district and the Department, and a finding of adequate progress creates a presumption that the child is making adequate progress (§ 299A.4(7)).

Adequate progress: scores above the 30th percentile, nationally normed, in reading, mathematics and language arts, showing six months' progress since the last evaluation or work at or above grade level; from grade 6 up, science and social studies too (§ 299A.6(4)). If a child doesn't make adequate progress, the child must attend an accredited school the next year unless, before it starts, the child retakes a different test and passes, an evaluator's report shows adequate performance, or the Department approves a remediation plan (§ 299A.6(1)).

Records: personal information in state agency records about a child in CPI or IPI is kept confidential like school student records (§ 299A.11). Keep your own copies of Form A, test or portfolio results, lesson records and course descriptions — they're what you'll use for transcripts, athletics eligibility and college.

Read the full section in our Iowa guide

Diplomas, transcripts, the HSED and college

Parent-issued diplomas: since House File 2754 (2026), a student who completes a secondary program under CPI or IPI "shall be deemed to have completed a high school education." The parent, guardian, legal custodian or instructor responsible for the program may issue a diploma, final transcript or other written documentation of the student's academic achievements and completion (§ 299A.13).

Same as a school diploma: that diploma or transcript must be accepted under Iowa law the same way as one from a school district or accredited nonpublic school, for all purposes — including admission to postsecondary education or training, employment, occupational licensing, state and local programs and any other purpose where a high school diploma is required. The state, local governments and "any other person" may not deny or restrict a right, privilege or benefit solely because the diploma was parent-issued, and the student isn't required to get a high school equivalency diploma (§ 299A.13). The law applies to diplomas and transcripts issued before, on or after its effective date.

District diplomas: the Department's homeschooling page says the decision to give a district diploma to a student receiving private instruction is up to the resident district, which isn't compelled to issue one, and the Department can't issue one. If you want a district diploma, contact the resident high school's administrators during your child's eighth-grade year to coordinate credits.

High school equivalency diploma (HSED): Iowa awards the HSED on the HiSET test, which covers language arts–reading, language arts–writing, mathematics, science and social studies. Each of Iowa's 15 community colleges offers programs to help students earn it, and the Department of Education continues to approve and issue the diplomas. The state also approves alternative HSED pathways, such as earning high school credits or a postsecondary degree, through authorized providers.

Applying to college: under § 299A.13, an Iowa college must accept a parent-issued diploma and transcript for admission the same way as a school's. Admission requirements themselves (courses, GPA, test scores) are set by each college, so check the admissions office early about what documentation it wants.

Read the full section in our Iowa guide

Official sources

Summarized from our Iowa guide (as of November 2026) and articles. Rules change — confirm on the official pages before you act.

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